Men receive federal prison sentences for tax, porn charges

An Amarillo man was sentenced Monday to a federal prison term and ordered to pay restitution for making a false statement on his tax returns.

Howard F. Saunders III was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay $55,618 in restitution, according to information from Amarillo's U.S. District Court.

In August, a federal grand jury indicted Saunders on three counts linked to making false income statements on his 1993, 1994 and 1995 federal income tax returns, federal court records show.

In another case, Hank Jay Turpin was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $12,000 fine on a child pornography charge. In September, Turpin was indicted on one count of knowingly receiving or distributing child pornography from 1998 through Sept. 15.